“My peer group were writing substantial pieces of social commentary, and I was willowing along the Welsh borders thinking about Gollum,” Plant told Planet Rock magazine in a new interview. “I liked what I did, but now I look at it and go, ‘Wooh, that was a bit iffy.’ But I do like ‘Stairway to Heaven.’ I can look at it objectively. I can’t always get my head around it, but it does do something substantial.”

Led Zeppelin staged their return to mark the achievements of late Atlantic Records boss Ahmet Ertegun. Even though his colleagues hoped to perform more shows, Plant insisted he was never interested in the idea. “I liked what Floyd did at Live 8 [in 2005],” he said. “[A] quick one-off and let’s leave it at that. They did it for a good cause."

He noted that "it was the same when Zeppelin did the charity show for Ahmet. We had a prolonged affinity with Ahmet, so if there was ever a reason for [a reunion] to happen, that was it. But the idea of doing it next summer and summer after that and so on is enough to break me out in hives.”